Lord, I thank You that You are my “buffer.” The Lord is my buffer; I shall not feel pain. How often have I been reminded of that beautiful thing You did for Your people when the Egyptians pursued them: You placed Your defending angel between pursuer and pursued (Exodus 14:19–20). Thank You, Lord, for the many times Your angel has stood between me and a grievous hurt, a smarting pain, and an otherwise crushing blow.
God will not unload on us more than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). That means He trusts our own spiritual strength to deal with the pain up to a certain point. But when He sees that the load is greater than our ability to handle it, He personally intervenes and takes the pain on Himself. I see now, Lord, what Isaiah meant when he said: “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them” (Isaiah 63:9). God is the great absorber of our excess suffering; that is why we are “able to bear it.”
I once heard an older believer, ill in the hospital, say: “I can’t understand it! Me, of all people, in utter peace!” She had expected to feel pain; instead, she felt the evidence of His presence. How often do we rejoice that God saves us from our sins! But it is just as true that He saves us from our sufferings by interposing Himself between them and us.
We worship a scarred God. But may I never forget, Lord, that the scars were inflicted because You loved me enough to step in between, to become my buffer, to take upon Yourself that which was rightly mine. Your love overwhelms me, God! No wonder Paul said it “surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19) and Isaac Watts described it so amazing, so divine.”
“Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For Thou hast rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 116:7– 9).
Daily with the King 